Soulful Grief
by ThunderMastery24
Summary: -A "What If" scenario in which despair is not as all-consuming as one could be led to believe it to be.
1. Chapter 1

"I was stupid." Miki Sayaka says, tilting her head to the side as tears ran down her face from her azure eyes. "So, _so_ stupid!"

Before the tears could descend onto her Soul Gem, effectively turning her into a witch, the Magical Girl next to her munches down angrily on the Pocky in her mouth before shoving its package into her pocket. Pulling out a Grief Seed, Sakura Kyoko places it on the other Magical Girl's Soul Gem.

"I'm not gonna let you turn into a witch Sayaka!" Kyoko growls, a fire blazing in her crimson eyes.

"But why?" Sayaka asks, oblivious as her Soul Gem steadily becomes purified. "What do I have to live for anymore? My best friend Hitomi betrayed me, the guy I was crushing on is someone who I've _finally_ realized is a jerk, I'm practically a zombie and-" She stops, her voice breaking as more tears threaten to fall. Taking a shuddering breath, she continues. "My best friend Madoka probably hates me now."

At such a sentiment, Kyoko grins. "She could _never_ hate you." She reasons, tossing aside the Grief Seed before pulling out another one and placing it upon her fellow compatriot's Soul Gem.

 _Damn Sayaka._ The redhead thinks, the grin falling from her face as a grimace takes its place. _You're really hurting, aren't you?"_

"How can you sound so sure?"

"C'mon Sayaka," Kyoko starts with a smirk, her eyes never straying from Sayaka's Soul Gem as the despair welling up inside of it - the corruption and utter hopelessness - fades dramatically before leaving the Soul Gem a comforting cerulean color. Her smirk widens at her success. " _You_ of all people should know your best friend." She snorts, rolling her eyes. "She's too nice and forgiving to hate anyone."

At the warm words of the pink-haired girl, a soft, small smile forms on Sayaka's face. "Yeah, she's pretty awesome, isn't she?"

"Yeah, sure." Kyoko mutters noncommittally. Tossing aside the useless Grief Seed, she reclines against the back of the chair she's sitting in before pulling out her Pocky.

"Thanks for being here for me Kyoko." Sayaka says earnestly, unaware of her cleansed Soul Gem.

Right as she put some Pocky in her mouth, Kyoko almost chokes on it at the sincerity of the other girl. The redhead shrugs indifferently before smirking confidently. "Don't mention it."

Sayaka chuckles before looking down at her Soul Gem. Upon seeing that it's been changed back to normal, she closes her hands around it and brings it to her chest. Sighing in relief, she shifts her gaze to look into the eyes of the Magical Girl next to her. And her heart skips a beat upon registering what lies in the other girl's eyes.

 _Could it be…?_

Moving her eyes away from her comrade, Sayaka adds it up to a trick of the dim light trying to illuminate the room.

"I don't know where I'd be without you." She says, knowing _exactly_ where she'd be had the redhead not intervened. Transformed into a Witch, lingering in a Labyrinth, luring people to their deaths or complete madness as she awaits for someone to defeat her. Had it not been for Kyoko, that would've been a reality.

"Don't worry about it." Kyoko says with an airy wave of her right hand as she puts some more Pocky in her mouth.

Sayaka gives her a glance before she makes a decision. Standing up, she keeps a firm grip on her Soul Gem.

"I need to apologize to Makoka!" She declares.

While she knows Kyoko has a point about the pink-eyed Magical Girl, she still needs to say she's sorry. Besides, she would be the last to take advantage of her friendship like that.

"Well, don't let me stop you." Kyoko says absently, looking inside her Pocky box. Finding it empty, she tosses it aside. The box somehow manages - after skittering around the edge - to fall into a nearby trash receptacle.

"Thanks again Kyoko." Sayaka says, looking at her for a moment before walking away. "I'll repay you for this somehow!" She shouts as she gets further away, her voice getting all the quieter.

"Just get me some apples and we'll be good!" Kyoko calls back, cupping her hands around her mouth before dropping them.

"Okay!" Is all Sayaka says before disappearing from the room.

Kyoko smiles before sighing, deflating in her chair. "That was close." She sighs once more before putting her hands behind her head.

"Indeed it was." A voice speaks from the shadows. A voice she recognizes _all too well_.

Getting to a crouch in her chair, Kyoko leaps from the piece of furniture as she draws her spear, her outfit shifting as it changes from her sweatshirt and sweatpants to her crimson Magical Girl outfit.

Baring her teeth at the new arrival, her eyes blaze with anger. "What are _you_ doing here?" Kyoko sneers as the demonic creature emerges from the shadows. She has to restrain herself from impaling the vile creature on sight.

"I suppose I could ask you the same question." Kyubey says with a swish of their tail. They tilt their head to the side. "While your attempt seems to have been successful, why did you want to stop Sayaka from becoming a witch?"

Kyoko snorts with venomous derision. "Like you would understand anyway."

"It seems like a wasted effort." Kyubey says. "A Magical Girl's existence ends either of two ways: they're killed fighting a witch or their despair overwhelms them, transforming them into a witch."

Kyoko frowns with discontentment, her fingers twitching on her spear. A slight smirk crosses her features. "You may think that now, but," She pauses, meeting Kyubey's gaze with her own. A challenge simmers in her crimson eyes as she hefts her spear so it's resting on her right shoulder. "We'll make a change of that." She inclines her head in the direction Sayaka had gone. "Obviously that isn't as set in stone as you think it is."

"While you may think that now," Kyubey starts with a swish of their tail. "I've never heard of a Magical Girl who wasn't killed by a witch or turned into one."

Kyoko smirks, clearly unfazed by such odds. "First time for everything."

The two maintain their stares before Kyubey tilts their head. "Regardlessly, if you manage to survive, it should be interesting."

And with that, they retreat into the very shadows they came from. Kyoko sneers at the space where Kyubey had resided. "Stupid animal."

If she never sees that beast again, it would be too soon. Knowing her luck, she most likely will. With a sigh, Kyoko sits back down, wondering how Sayaka's apology to Madoka was going.

 ** _Originally Added: August 8th, 2016._**


	2. Chapter 2

"I was stupid." Sayaka said, tilting her head to the side as tears ran down her face. "So, _so_ stupid."

Before the tears could descend onto her Soul Gem, effectively turning her into a witch, the Magical Boy next to her rubbed her tears away as he put a Grief Seed on her Soul Gem.

"I'm not allowing you to become a witch Sayaka." Kyoko growled.

"But why?" Sayaka asked as her Soul Gem was steadily becoming purified. "What do I have to live for anymore? My best friend Hitomi betrayed me, the guy I was crushing on is someone who I've _finally_ realized is a jerk, I'm practically a zombie and," Her voice broke as more tears threatened to fall. "My best friend Madoka probably hates me now."

"He could _never_ hate you." Kyoko reasoned as he placed another Grief Seed upon her Soul Gem. _Damn Sayaka, you're really hurting inside, aren't you?_

"How can you sound so sure?"

Kyoko smirked. If the Magical Girl wasn't so lost in her crippling despair, she might've found the action endearing. For all she knew, it might've even made her heart beat erratically in her chest. "C'mon Sayaka, you of all people should know your best friend. He's too nice and forgiving to hate anyone."

Sayaka had a soft, small smile on her face. "Yeah, he's pretty awesome, isn't he?"

"Not as awesome as you." Kyoko said.

Tilting her head to him, she bore him a questioning gaze. "How can…" She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Do you mean that?"

"'Course I do."

Sayaka emitted a yelp of surprise when she was wrapped in someone's comforting embrace. Instead of saying anything, they sat in silence as they drank in each other's presence. On impulse, Kyoko kissed the top of her head.

"I know that when we first met I had tried to kill you." Kyoko started.

"Yeah." Sayaka agreed with a smirk. "You were a real jerk."

He scratched the back of his neck at that.

"Anyway," He resumed. "I want you to know that there is _no_ _one_ who I'd support more than you."

Sayaka smiled with a soft tenderness at the sentiment, oblivious to how her Soul Gem had been cleansed. "Thank you Kyoko."

Kyoko shrugged indifferently, but she could see the red staining his cheeks. "Don't mention it." He mumbled.

Sayaka chuckled before looking down at her Soul Gem. Upon seeing that it was changed back to normal, she closed her hands around it and brought it to her chest. Sighing in relief, she shifted her gaze to look into the eyes of the Magical Boy next to her. And when she registered what was in his eyes, her heart skipped a beat.

 _Could it be…?_

Moving her eyes away from him, she added it up to her emotions. Still, there was a certain light in his eyes that was hard to ignore.

"I don't know where I'd be without you." She said.

Truth was, she knew _exactly_ where she'd be. A witch to be defeated. And had it not been for him, that would've became a reality.

"Don't worry about it." Kyoko said.

Sayaka gave him a glance before she made a decision. Standing up, she kept a firm grip on her Soul Gem.

"I need to apologize to Madoka." She declared.

While she knew Kyoko had a point about his kind nature, she still needs to say she's sorry. Besides, she wouldn't want to take advantage of him like that.

"Well, don't let me stop you." Kyoko said, with a chuckle as he held up his hands.

"Thanks again Kyoko." Sayaka said, looking at him for a moment before walking away. "I'll repay you for this somehow!" She shouted as she got further away.

"Just get me some apples and we'll be good!" Kyoko called back. "And remember to live your life!"

"I will!" She answered before she exited the room.

Kyoko smiled before he sighed and leaned back in his chair. "That was close." He sighed as he put his hands behind his head.

"Indeed it was." A voice spoke from the shadows. A voice he recognized all too well.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kyoko sneered as a demonic creature emerged from the shadows. He had to restrain himself from impaling the creature on sight.

"I suppose I could ask you the same question." Kyubey said with a swish of their tail. They tilted their head to the side. "While your attempt seems to have been successful, why did you want to stop Sayaka from becoming a witch?"

Kyoko snorted with derision. "Like you would understand anyway."

"It seems like a wasted effort." Kyubey said. "A Magical Boy or Magical Girl's existence ends either of two ways: they're killed fighting a witch or a warlock or their despair overwhelms them, transforming them into a witch or a warlock."

Kyoko frowned with discontentment before a slight smirk crossed his features. "Maybe we'll make a change of that." He stood up from his seat as he stared Kyubey down. "Sayaka and I, even Madoka and that girl Homura will survive." He clenched his fist with determination. "We'll defeat every witch and warlock and topple any feelings of despair!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he couldn't help feeling that they tasted... _off_.

"While you may think that now," Kyubey started with a swish of their tail. "I've never heard of a Magical Girl or Magical Boy who wasn't killed by a witch or warlock or turned into one."

Kyoko smirked. "First time for everything."

The two maintain their stares before Kyubey tilted his head. "Regardlessly, if you manage to survive, it should be interesting."

And with that, he retreated into the very shadows he came from. Kyoko sneered at the space where Kyubey had resided. "Stupid creature."

If he never saw that beast again, it would be too soon. Knowing his luck, he most likely will. With a sigh, Kyoko sat back down, wondering how Sayaka's apology to Madoka was going.

 _ **Originally Added: August 8th, 2016.**_


End file.
